Hi all,

Right i am looking for some opinions on a new frame, currently riding a Cube Stereo but needs replacing as it needs a new rear end and i can’t find one suitable.
My budget is not that much, around £1200 and i don’t really want 2nd hand, it needs to be around 140-150mm, have a tapered steerer and a 142 x 12mm rear axle so i can transfer everything over to keep costs down to a minimum.
Not asking for much i know!
Shortlist so far is:

Liteville 301, i do really like these and most owners seem to be very happy with them. MK10 can be had for around £1200, is the Mk11 worth another £200 more?

Transition Bandit 26, looking around they can be had for just over a grand or just over £1200 with an upgraded BOS Vip’R rear shock, will it ride fine with my 150mm forks?

Saracen Ariel 14X, nice looking frame in my opinion, comes in around £1400 which is slightly more than i want to pay but if it is really worth it then i will.

I can’t really find much else for my budget so what are your thoughts? am i missing anything?

Everyone seems to rave about the Liteville

Bandit great and pedals (Edinburgh) have a medium at under a £1k. They have also usually got deals on x fusion forks too.i had mine at 140mm but I know a couple of riders who have used 150 with no issues.
Richard

You could get a full bike Saracen Ariel for <£1400 not so long back.

is the Mk11 worth another £200 more?

main difference seems that it’s pre-drilled for a stealth dropper so you don;t void warranty on the BB area by drilling your own.

tbh, I’m running a KS Lev on mine and the cable is hidden for 80% of it’s journey as there’s a gully under the top tube so I can’t see a stealth post adding much.

You’re a lucky sod if £1200 budget for a frame ‘isn’t much’!

Nukeproof mega tr?

130mm rear, 150mm front. Gets good reviews as a rowdy trail bike.

£875 with stealth routing at CRC.

Thanks for the input so far, Faustus £1200 is a lot of money to me too, it’s just if you look around £2K+ seems to be the norm for a frame, especially one to fit my requirements.
Thanks Shackleton i totally forgot about the Mega, will have a quick look at those now.

if you look around £2K+ seems to be the norm for a frame, especially one to fit my requirements.

There are lots of “do it all” 140mm frames available that fit your requirements and when I was looking a year ago they certainly weren’t £2k+ My shortlist was Bandit, Liteville, Orange 5 (of course) amongst other complete builds such as a Zesty or Stumpjumper. I settled on the Bandit.

Have you demo’d any of these yet?

You could get a full bike Saracen Ariel for <£1400 not so long back.

I bought one of those, 142 for £1350 (half the RRP). Was a solid frame for sure. Come up small though and paint chipped easily. It was a lot of bike for the money and very playful. I bought it without trying it first and unfortunately never felt at home on it so sold after a couple of months and bought a Zesty that was on sale. All in, a much nicer bike.

I would be interested to see if they offer the heavy discounts again this year. Their new range looks really nice.

I was looking at the TR before I spotted the Zesty, the frames were still going for over 1K then though. For £875 they look like a bargain.

Continuing being a smart ass, what would have done nicely was an El Guapo for £480. One day only I’m afraid though. I have a Bandit myself, tried it with 140 and 150 Revs. I preferred the ‘snap’ of the 140s so I now have Slants set at 140! 😈 A fun fun bike.

Bandit from pedals would be my choice running 150 up front or liteville close 2nd.

The mk 11 also has a “normal” press in headset cups whereas I think the mk10 is integrated.

Also think about a new 650b heckler

wwaswas – Member
is the Mk11 worth another £200 more?

main difference seems that it’s pre-drilled for a stealth dropper so you don;t void warranty on the BB area by drilling your own.

Liteville have drilling instructions on their site, don’t think drilling voids warranty